Telephone headsets are used in various environments, such as call centers and offices, and a method and apparatus for determining whether a person is available at his or her telephone, computer, or work station allows for more efficient automation of many business processes.
For example, if an automated call distribution system at a call center receives a large number of incoming calls, a means and method to determine which of its local stations are connected to headsets presently worn by an agent allows for efficiency in routing calls.
In another example, in circumstances common in many businesses, an individual may use multiple different telephones or headsets over the course of a day. Such telephones may include cellular telephones, conventional analog or digital telephones, Internet Protocol (IP) telephones, and computers running software which acts as an IP telephone. If the headsets worn by the individual in the course of using these different telephones can determine when they are actually being worn, this state can be communicated to call routing devices so that calls for that individual can be efficiently routed to the telephone he or she is currently using.
Previously, the detection of current flow to a headset has been used to determine that a headset is physically connected to a particular telephone, and then the inference is made that because a headset is physically connected, a person must be available at that telephone or headset. This inference fails, however, when the user removes the headset from his head and leaves the headset behind still connected to the telephone, computer, and/or system. For example, a home user may have no need to remove the headset from the computer when the user departs from the system.
Another previous means and method for determining a headset state has included software that requires the user to login to indicate that the user is available to receive calls. Again, if the user moves away from the computer without logging out, the system will erroneously indicate the user's availability at that computer.
In another application, the ADA has established a requirement for telephone earphone volume control that provide increased volume for users with significant hearing loss. This requirement mandates that a telephone with extended receive volume control range must reduce the volume to a safe level appropriate for a user that does not suffer from significant hearing loss whenever the user has hung up the telephone. This requirement is intended to protect the hearing of a telephone user that does not suffer from significant hearing loss when the user uses a telephone that is normally used by a person that does suffer from significant hearing loss.
Previous solutions have reduced the receive volume after each call, but this solution has caused great inconvenience to the user with significant hearing loss in that the user must manually return the receive volume to the previous level at the start of each phone call. This is particularly onerous in call center and office environments where the user handles many calls per hour.
In many consumer systems, plugging in and unplugging a headset as well as logging in and out of a system may be inconvenient, easily forgotten, and/or too unreliable. Thus, a reliable means and method for determining the donned or doffed state of a headset is highly desirable for providing notification to a system.